A few years ago (2016),  I took a step out of the norm at work and submitted a proposal to participate in the authors and artists reception as part of my college’s annual staff and faculty conference.

In the grand scheme of things, that was no big deal, but in my photographic life, it was only the 2nd time I’ve displayed my work in a public way. The first time was about five years before at a craft show at my son’s elementary school. For the work event, I was not trying to sell anything. Rather, I was sharing some of my favorite shots as part of a display of nature photography.

There are still lots more that I want to learn about the art and craft of taking pictures, but that event allowed me the chance to show my friends and colleagues at the college that I am, as my friend Cindy first labeled me, an artist in my own right.  Below are the photos that I had framed and on display.

I’ve worked on more projects since then, including giving a talk about my approach to photography as part of a virtual arts series I ran during the first year of the pandemic. Other than that, I continued to keep my photography as a personal hobby rather than a public artistic practice.  I do have a Fine Art America site, but that is mostly to print photo for cards and gifts for friends and family.   

It is difficult to put my photos out for public consumption as part of shows or even for sale. I am not sure why. I get so much joy from photography. The older I get, I guess the less I worry about trying something new. It seems strange that with age comes the freedom to step out of my comfort zone versus settling in to routines. I also think that I have enough of a corpus of work to choose from. I also feel more encouraged and “legitimate” as a photographer as artist vs. hobbies. So, I am taking some risks this summer and entering a few juried art shows. Let’s see what happens.